An explorer ended up shell-shocked after stumbling across tortoises getting rather intimate.

Paul Rose came across the giant tortoises while on an island in the Seychelles, north of Madagascar, and quickly encountered their wrath.
The tense scenes were caught on camera for National Geographic.

“Walking across the island I was drawn toward a powerful rhythmic grunting coming from dense bushes and was delighted to find that it was two giant tortoises mating — a beautiful thing to witness,” Mr Rose said.

“I did the obvious and — together with Neil Gelinas, our film producer — sat in the grass, quiet, almost holding my breath for fear of disturbing them.”

But they were spotted and one of the tortoises came towards him, snorting and spitting.

Rose said he retreated in “panic” but the tortoise wouldn’t give in. What followed is probably the slowest — and most comical — chase in history.